Development in the area of integrated photonics with applications in optical interconnects, sensors, biotechnology and telecommunications has followed a path similar to that of integrated circuits. The size and costs of integrated photonic components have generally decreased concomitant with a general increase in complexity and functionality of these components as well as in the photonic systems in which the components are employed. In particular, considerable effort in the past several decades has been devoted to making improvements in all aspects of integrated photonics including reduced size or footprint, increased functionality, lower power dissipation and low cost.
A major advancement in integrated photonics in recent years has been the development and use of so-called “metal optics.” The term “metal optics” here generally refers to the use of optical modes bound or confined to an interface between a surface of a material with a negative dielectric constant (e.g., a metal or a doped semiconductor that may show a plasma-like response to an incident electromagnetic wave) and one of a vacuum or a material with a positive dielectric constant. These bound optical modes are also referred to as surface plasmons or surface plasmon polaritons (SPP).
Chief among the promises of metal optics is the use of the bound optical modes in realizing and implementing sub-wavelength photonic devices and structures (e.g., nanoscale integrated photonics). However, a problem that faces the use of metal optics is the realization of practical components using such constructs.
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